Sometimes just finding that one piece of winter gear you need to round out everything else you own is tricky especially if you’re talking about a PFD, most are designed to keep you cool and not warm and warmth is what’s needed. There are so many PFD’s out there to pick from and with temps dropping into the 20s and going lower you really shouldn’t wear a inflatable PFD which is my go to pfd. In cold weather they don’t inflate as much not giving you the floatation you may need.

4.5 inches thick old PFD front and back together

The biggest gripe I always have is how bulky a traditional PFD is and once you layer up for cold conditions they make it even worst not to mention you really almost need a separate winter PFD just to have one to fit on over all your layers. I hate it when your trying as hard as you can to target a small group of fish and your rod butt hits you PFD when working the bait or worst yet when you’re setting the hook a slob of a fish and the rod butt catches on your PFD only to feel the fish come off.

Only 2inches thick the front and back together

I went to Bass Pro to pick up a cheap vest for the winter the cheap ones were bulky in the front and back, but the price was right $49.98, I’m only using it at most 3 months of the year . They were having BPS Santaland being it’s right before the holidays which was where all the PFDs were. When I found where they had put them all the PFDs were smashed on top of each other, which was magic, just one of the XPS Deluxe Fishing vests were mixed in and when I saw it, I just had to check it out.

Fleece collar help keeps you warm

XPS Deluxe Fishing vest is different then most PFDs, most PFDs have all the foam floatation located in the front and back where on the XPS Deluxe Fishing vest its distributed all the way around the vest adding a layer of warmth and greatly reducing the bulk on the front and back. Not only is it less bulky and warmer this vest comes in sizes up to 4xl. With fleece lined pockets to warm your hands up when they get cold from fishing and it doesn’t stop there it has a fleece collar as well. Is this thing made for me or what.

My one disappointment with this vest there’s no place to put my knife, I always like to have one handy, you never know when that catfishing line is going to cause problems.

The XPS deluxe fishing vest make a great winter kayak fishing vest its slim, warm and the fleece lined pockets really dial this vest into keeping you warm. Coming in at only $69.98 what a great value on a piece of critical importance in the winter.

With a slight rise in the Ohio river I start to get a little excited, where will the fish be? When will they bite?

Hitting the mouth of tribs over two days finding that the cold spell from a couple days ago has pushed most the fish off the flats and into schools on the secondary flat with a few active feeders pushing bait fish up onto the flats. Throwing lipless crank in shad colors I got to see a monster hybrid chase it down in six inches of water only to smash it and then j…ump off.

With the warming trend and a little more rise in the Ohio river the following day brought more active fish and the schools are getting more coherent and predictable at the mouths of tribs. Its such a mixed bag right now with the warmer temps spotted bass and still holding tight to structure in and shallow mud flats.

Its almost prime time we just need some more water another 5 to 10 feet of water on the Ohio river will position the fish just perfect for catching.

Day 1 Searching tributaries of the Ohio river for schooling fish the creek mouths paided off holding schools of spotted bass while the flats out on the Ohio river had some schools of whites coming threw and leaving as fast as they came. Rob Orr was fishing his blade bait when I here him say “Found them!” my fish finder was lit up like a Christmas tree dropping my lure to get a instant thunk, double header of chunky whites. 48 fish for the day mostly Spotted bass with some rea…lly nice chunky whites mixed in. Nuts and bolts Ohio river 54 degree water temp, tributary was 45 degrees slight west wind bright and sunny.
Day 2 Hitting another spot that looks amazing for winter fishing another tributary of the Ohio. Forgetting my fish finder battery was not the best way to start the day but making the best of it is all you can do, finding some qaulity fish turned my frown upside down. Fish were relating to the flat on either side of the tributary and a rock wall that runs down the Ohio river. Todd Strong was dumb enough to meet me on a early cold morning.
Switching baits kept the bite going all day, jerk baits were bringing the best qaulity fish with the best being just shy of 20 inches. The winter fishing pattern is almost here. Ohio river 54 degrees and the tributary was 44 degrees, party cloudy. ##hobiefishing

Checking out a tributary of the Ohio River earlier in the week white bass and hybrids were just starting to move up to the mouth but things are changing. The Ohio River water temp has been around 58 degrees but the tribs have been in the low 50s and same was true today the one difference is the Ohio river was rising slightly pushing the warmer water up into the tribs and the first schools of whites and hybrids are following the bait moving with the warm water.

Early in the mo…rning I pedaled up the trib but noticing low 50s for water temp I decide to head to the mouth and found schools starting to stack up and as the Ohio river rose over the next few hours with my side scan I could watch the schools move in. By the afternoon i could find fish miles up the trib.

If you came to my seminar this was a classic example of fish relating to ledges till the conditions were right and once that happened they made their move and they didn’t just move 100 yards but miles.

Such a mixed bag of fish on the Ohio river you really never know what you’re going to catch.

Nuts and Bolts: Bright sunshine, Ohio river 58, tribs 51 in the morning, water was clearish green

Its finally down to the last event of the year and for me I was lucky enough to make the top 10 in points for angler of the year which qualified me for this event. It’s the top 12 kayak anglers in Ohio and it’s a complete privilege to be in this group of anglers.

Starting it off like any other new lake I pre fished Kiser Lake a couple of days before the event I established a good pattern for fish and feeling confident for… the event, Bert is coming down to hang out and it was a good thing, I was the only one camping if Bert didn’t come down and he had the fire wood. It’s always fun hanging out the night before and talking about game plans. I have three guys I think will be the ones to beat.

Slept in my car so I could get to registration quick in the morning, after everyone arrived we set off at 8:00 am on a windy day with some cloud cover and the temps were in the mid 40s. I beeline to my first spot a long rock jetty and by 8:20 am I have my limit, not big ones but a limit and I am feeling super pumped. Second spot same thing pre fishing is paying off with fish but nothing big yet and my Third spot was a bust.

I get the word of a 21.5 incher being caught and the dark horse rises! Mike Murphy a guy who knows the lake and has been putting it together last couple tourneys is putting a monster on the board. I start fishing the weeds but it is too late I get a upgrade but my fish are on the small side.

Congrats to Mike Murphy what a great day of fishing! Chris Hannegen was on his heels and fishing strong. I didn’t have the day I wanted but I learned a lot one of the biggest things was the big fish came mostly early off the lilies and weeds.

Thanks to everyone who has competed in or made BKFT possible its been a crazy fun year, looking forward to 2017! Thanks for the support threw this season and now it’s time to switch species and start finding some fish with stripes